Cease: Stop graduating those who don't have basic grasp of fundamentals

Our public school system is cheating the vast majority of students who graduate without basic skills, which are needed in jobs, to pursue higher education and in daily living. This needs to end.

At the heart of the problem is that the Guam Department of Education continues to practice social promotion -- allowing students who don't meet standards for their grade level to move on to the next grade. When this happens, these students continue to fall further behind. If they didn't have the education skills needed to pass fifth grade, for example, then they're not ready for sixth grade and perform even worse there.

The higher these students are allowed to advance, the more poorly they perform relative to their grade level, and the harder it is for them to learn what they need to know by the time they graduate.

Social promotion hurts students far worse than holding them back in school. No student wants to be held back a grade, and no parent wants that to happen. But the Guam Department of Education needs to ensure students meet basic performance standards. A lack of proficiency in core subjects cripples their futures.

The soon-to-be implemented Common Core Standards may mean the end of social promotion. Education officials are working to get the new Common Core Standards curriculum fully implemented this school year. It's expected to raise standards and adequately prepare public school students.

Part of the goal is to establish benchmarks for each grade across the nation. That way, if students move, they will be at the same place as students in their new area. Each grade level has specific standards that are meant to be clear, understandable and consistent. Standards are evidence-based and build "upon strengths and lessons of current state standards," the Common Core website states.

This kind of curriculum standard is long overdue. The vast majority of our public school graduates don't meet basic mastery levels in English or math. As a result, many aren't ready to enter the workforce or cope with the demands of a higher education.

This must change, and it's up to education officials to take the steps to make that happen.

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Cease: Stop graduating those who don't have basic grasp of fundamentals

Our public school system is cheating the vast majority of students who graduate without basic skills, which are needed in jobs, to pursue higher education and in daily living. This needs to end.At